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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26774764">i dont know anything (but i know i miss you)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selemetis/pseuds/Selemetis'>Selemetis</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Riverdale (TV 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst without a happy ending, Bisexual Archie Andrews, Bisexual Jughead Jones, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, Secret Relationship, Songfic, Teen Angst, You Have Been Warned, bc the song is t swift - betty, early episodes on season 1, i know the name is ironic and all that but still, okay i have zero care for what happened after s1, with the hints of cardigan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:20:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,470</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26774764</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selemetis/pseuds/Selemetis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“So, tell us, our resident Justin Gingerlake,” Cheryl licked her lips with a hunger for chaos. She eyed the room carefully, drew her audience’s attention before she released the poison. “What is the worst thing you’ve ever done?”</p><p>or,</p><p>It's Jughead's birthday. Archie is miserable.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Archie Andrews/Jughead Jones</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>36</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>i dont know anything (but i know i miss you)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarissa/gifts">sarissa</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Okay so I have fancied Jarchie for a looong while, but this is the first time i actually decided to write about them. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a pretty ending.<br/>Blame Taylor Swift and my friend who craved some Jarchie Angst.<br/>They both work in mysterious ways.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was a huge crowd gathered at Cheryl Blossom’s annual “Welcome Back to High School” party. She had been hosting these parties since she was in junior high. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ridiculous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, hey, that was what made it so fun to begin with. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Normally, Archie Andrews would be thrilled to go to the said party but this summer ended in a way that it made his stomach clench with the thought of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“So, tell us, our resident Justin Gingerlake,” Cheryl licked her lips with a hunger for chaos. She eyed the room carefully, drew her audience’s attention before she released the poison. “What is the worst thing you’ve ever done?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Archie gulped and looked around to find some sort of courage. Betty gave her a small smile, Veronica didn’t even care for where he was standing and finally… he had to avert his gaze purposefully from Jughead. Not that the boy with the beanie was looking at his direction. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The worst thing I ever did…” he cleared his throat and pulled his knees to himself. “I think it was that one time I…” he was running out of words as he spoke. Never the wordsmith.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just tell them the time you TP’d the entire Southside.” Jughead rasped. “You got an earful for that from both of our fathers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Archie couldn’t speak for a second, his eyes locked on Jughead but he was reading a book he stole from Cheryl’s father’s library. He wasn’t even in the game, but he was still watching them over a couch, lazily laid down, eating the leftovers from the BBQ earlier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, that time.” Archie tried to chuckle. “Thanks, man.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No worries,” Jughead still kept his gaze on the book. Pride and Prejudice. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Bro</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The word stang in a different way that Archie hadn’t expected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ew, Archie, you went over to the Southside for that?” Reggie laughed. “That asks for some trouble, my dude.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone in the room either laughed or was disgusted by his choice of trouble. However, the moment had passed and Archie didn’t have to answer truly to Cheryl’s question. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It burnt his heart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jeez, Jughead, you’re gonna have some stories over Southside High this year.” Kevin chuckled next to Betty. “Just let us know how they reacted.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait, what?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure will, Kev.” Jughead said only, eyes still, still on that damn book. “Do you want a video call or would a PDF be just as efficient?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>At least</span>
  </em>
  <span> fake it as if you’re having fun.” Betty slapped his knee but Jughead only chuckled. “Don’t make it </span>
  <em>
    <span>too obvious </span>
  </em>
  <span>that we dragged you here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Way too honest for that, Betts.” His tone was lazy yet kind, as usual, when it came to Betty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Was he changing schools? How come Archie didn’t know about that?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He grabbed Jughead’s arm after almost everyone left the party. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you switching to Southside High?” he asked, bewildered. “How come?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jughead scoffed and got away from Archie’s hold. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously?” He showed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie after adjusting his beanie. “You’ve got some nerve, Arch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was around your house the other day.” Archie confessed as he followed Jughead on the street, it was easy to keep up with his not-so-sport loving figure. “Jug, I wanted to stop and talk to you but I…” he stopped in the middle of the road, pulling him to stop as well. “It’s like I couldn’t breath.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I learned everything from </span>
  <em>
    <span>Cheryl</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Archie.” Jughead hissed. Finally some emotion, Archie thought. “Cheryl. Of all people, I had to hear from </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>that you were banging Miss Grundy behind my back.” he took a step towards Archie under the dim street light, in the middle of the street, still wet with the rain from the morning. “Was it true, or not?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Archie gulped in fear again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can’t believe a word she says, usually.” he rumbled. “But this time…” he bit his lip, he couldn’t look him in the eye. “This time it was true.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jughead let out a humorless chuckle, wiping a hand down his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was the worst thing I ever did, Jug. When Cheryl asked me back in the game. It’s what I did to you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Gee, Archie, that’s a huge fucking relief now, isn’t it?” he tilted his head to take a good look at him. “Did it ever occur to you maybe that’s exactly why I didn’t let you be out with it, to spare the gossip of it all?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know where it all went wrong.” He ignored the question. “Look, Jughead, what you and I had… I know I ruined it, okay? I know I ruined it from the start, from the entire fucking start I did everything wrong. But I… I </span>
  <em>
    <span>miss </span>
  </em>
  <span>you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You miss me?” Jughead mocked him. He could be so mean when he wanted to. “Did you miss me when you were fucking our teacher, Archie? Did you miss me when you were flirting with Veronica since the day she arrived? Or maybe you missed me while you were ogling eyes with Betty, huh?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tore himself apart from Archie when he reached for him and raised his hands in defense. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m done, Archie. It’s over.” he huffed, turned around and pulled the string of his mailman bag. “Have a good fucking junior year.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Archie spent the rest of September in agony. Miss Grundy got fired, no thanks to their local journalist, Alice Cooper. Jughead switched schools and since Betty and Kevin knew why, they sort of steered clear from him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just wrong, Archie.” Betty half-apologized from him one day at the cafeteria. “I talked to Jughead and he said… well, not the nicest things. And I think you need some time to yourself to think and sort out what to do next.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kevin just literally gave him a death glare whenever he got the chance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even Veronica seemed to change her mind about Archie and hung out with Reggie and Cheryl most of the time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He laid on his bed, an arm under his head and thought about that damn day, that damn fucking day that he ruined everything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t like they had the smoothest relationship before that day, he knew that Jughead was uncomfortable with him hiding that they’d been dating for almost a year then. He knew that Jughead wanted to end all the secrecy and misery, to live freely in his own element. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Archie couldn’t. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t just go out there and tell everyone that he’d been sleeping with his childhood best friend, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and no, not with Betty</span>
  </em>
  <span>, with Jughead. He was too afraid and too slow, too shy that they’d kick him out of the team, too shy that he’d had to endure everything that Kevin had. He just couldn’t bring himself to do it. And wasn’t the two of them enough for their relationship? Wasn’t it just fine with the stolen glances and secret meetings with them? Wasn’t everyone happy?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But that damn day, as if all that weren’t enough, he had been on his way to the gym, where he had to rehearse with Josie and the Pussycats for a new number for the next year’s homecoming but there he saw Jughead, dancing very, very badly and awkwardly to his favorite song with Betty. He wasn’t even actually dancing, not by the definition of it but he seemed so happy and carefree without Archie that it made his blood boil suddenly. He saw Jughead at his finest, at his happiest, a happiness that himself couldn’t conjure from him during their alone time, during the times he spared for him. Jughead wasn’t even looking for Archie at that moment, he was just having fun. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he didn’t need Archie for that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned around, texted Josie that his father needed help with something and that was it -- he was out of the gym, walking towards God knew where, when a turquoise car pulled over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There Miss Grundy was, holding a milkshake in her hand as she drove down the lane with such clothes that Archie didn’t even think she’d wear but she wasn’t in the school anymore, her classes had ended a week ago. She looked like everything that was forbidden, everything that was wrong and everything that wasn’t expected from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you need a ride, Archie?” Miss Grundy asked, with a gorgeous smile on her face. “Come on, let me give you a ride.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Archie understood what she actually meant later that day. And that night. And the day after that. And an entire week until the school ended. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To this day, he still didn’t know who saw them and told Cheryl, or if it was Cheryl, how she managed to get to that information. But one thing was clear, no matter how hard he tried to keep it from Jughead, no matter how cold he was towards him, he heard that Jughead knew and that was it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He destroyed everything with a single decision.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He checked the date on his phone again to realize that it was Jughead’s birthday today. He knew that Jug hated any sorts of parties but now that he was in the Southside High, maybe he’d change his mind about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, uh, are you guys going to a party this weekend?” he casually asked in the cafeteria. Betty and Kevin exchanged looks. “What? What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did you know about the party?” Kevin asked, eyes narrowed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just asked about </span>
  <em>
    <span>a </span>
  </em>
  <span>party.” Archie defended himself sheepishly. “What’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>the </span>
  </em>
  <span>party?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s, uhm, Jughead’s birthday party.” Betty murmured. “He invited us, actually Joaquin did, Kev’s boyfriend. They are planning a surprise party for him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jughead hates surprises, and parties.” Archie frowned. “And his birthday.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He apparently changed his mind.” Betty just shrugged. “But I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go there, Arch.” she patted his hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t going to--” he started but when Betty raised an eyebrow, he stopped. “You don’t think?” he asked instead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How come you didn’t anticipate this?” Kevin asked him, eyes still narrowed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anticipated…?” Archie trailed off and he rolled his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Expected, I mean.” he dumbed it down. “Did you really expect that Jughead or any of his friends would invite you to his birthday party?” He seemed so done with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Archie bit his lip, looked down on his tray. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.” he murmured. “But I miss him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sucks to be you, then.” Kevin flatly said and picked up his tray to leave the table. “See you around 8, Betty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once Betty and Archie were alone, Archie nudged her tray with his.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you still mad at me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Arch--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Betty, come on.” Archie insisted. “I can’t sleep at night, the only thing I think about is Jughead and I can’t even look at myself in the mirror because his face is on my mirror next to yours and I can’t breath when I think that he’s out there without me.” He saw the look on Betty’s face and sighed. “And I know I deserved all of those things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The party will be at their old house, down the river.” she said finally. “I don’t know if he’ll want you around but…” she got up. “Thought you should know.” and left without hearing Archie’s heartfelt thank yous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So what if he’d show up at Jughead’s party? Would he have Archie? Kiss him again? Would the kiss be like their first? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walked down the road with millions of butterflies in his stomach until he heard the loud noises from the party house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He passed all the drinkers by, familiars and strangers all mingled up together. Kevin dancing with Joaquin, Cheryl kissing a pink haired girl whereas Betty laughed at a giant boy with a snake tattoo on his neck. Veronica or Reggie wasn’t around, not that he’d expect them to be but he didn’t know where Jughead was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Until he saw the swing in his backyard moving back and forth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even at his own party, Jughead Jones was deserting people. It put a stupid smile on Archie’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” he tapped on his shoulder before he could turn around and leave. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jughead rose to his feet quickly, looking at him with a strange look on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing here?” he only asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I, uh, I just wanted to say happy birthday, I guess.” Archie rubbed the back of his neck. “Happy birthday.” he added a chuckle at the end but Jughead wasn’t amused.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Heard you loud and clear. You can go now.” Jughead nodded towards the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Juggie.” Archie called him softly and he stopped at the stairs to the kitchen. “I miss you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good riddance.” Jughead said. “I don’t care about it anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Juggie, please.” Archie stepped towards him, grabbing his sleeve. “I just made a stupid mistake, okay? It was just a stupid summer thing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A stupid summer thing?” Jughead yanked his arm back and came back to the garden, standing in front of Archie. “A fucking summer thing, Archie?” he was almost screaming. “Then what the hell </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>was? Your distraction from school?” He shook his head. “Go </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>yourself, Archie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jughead I love you!” Archie blurted out finally, hoping that hearing it out loud would help. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you dare!” Jughead walked up to him, a finger threateningly standing between their inches apart faces. “Don’t you dare talk about love after what you did!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Archie grabbed his arms, forcing him to look him in his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just made a terrible, terrible mistake, Jughead.” he whispered, almost begging him. “I’m just a seventeen year old kid.” he was teary now, he hated it. “I know nothing about life or maybe even relationships, but, Jughead, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>that I love you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jughead was teary, too, and he hated that even more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am just seventeen, too, Archie.” Jughead swallowed his tears, lips pressed like a line. “But I know everything. And I know </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I knew you’d find a way to show up, I knew you’d create a scenario to see me. And right now I know you’re trying to change the ending like you always do but it won’t work this time. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Peter lost Wendy</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Archie, the dream is over and I’m so, so done with you even though I miss you, too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Archie tried so hard not to have heard of everything else but the last part of his sentence. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jughead missed him, too</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry.” he could only whisper. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jughead pulled Archie to himself, hugged him so tight that Archie felt for one glorious moment that everything went back to the way it had been until Jughead released him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, too,” he whispered to his neck right before he took a step away from him. “But I think you should go now.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thaaaanks for reading it, hope you'll leave a kudos and a comment!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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